@Scott - yes I agree - and the more I see Americans (I didn't see ANYONE doing this in Europe) talking/texting while driving I have more and more concerns about safety and automotive. I hope that MEMS and other technologies can play a role in ensuring that automobiles become safer! A combination of active and passive safety devices I think are the answer...

I guess this is a case of - just because a technology can do something, doesn't mean that it should. Driver distraction is one of the fastest growing areas of concern for automotive manufacturers, legislators and law enforcement. It will be a tricky needle to thread for the manufacturers.

Thanks for the nice note, Charles! Yes, you are right - the "good" in MEMS in automotive greatly outweighs any downsides in terms of saving lives (just think of how many more have been saved by airbags, too!). thank you! Karen

Karen: Great article. I suppose we could make the case that MEMS could detract from safety in some applications, but that would be more than offset by the lives that have been saved by MEMS-based electronic stability control systems. NHTSA estimates that between 8,000 and 10,000 lives per years are saved by electronic stability control.

thanks everyone for your comments about smart cars enabled by MEMS - one other thing I forgot to mention was the use of MEMS displays inside the car - personally I am concerned it might lead to more road accidents (counter intuititve to the "safety safety safety" mantra that so many in automotive talk about); but i do know that there a bunch of folks in the field (and in automotive) who are looking to put pico-projectors (enabled by MEMS) inside cars in lieu of dashboards...what are your thoughts on this? I am enjoying the conversations - thank you so much. best - Karen

Now a day's most of the automobiles are coming in a smarter way by equipping with all sorts of intelligent and automated system. Complete automation of dashboards and MPFI fuel injection, GPRS based tracking etc are some of the advanced features. Now a day's some of the high end cars are providing wifi and Bluetooth connectivity also.

MEMS can ensure that a driver is not inebriated before getting behind the wheel. He should be able to unlock the car so that he can sit inside and should not be allowed to start the car. This will really reduce the problems with drinken driving and this is really an example of how technology can enhance quality of life.

I agree. It is interesting to see the automotive industry opening up such a wide range of innovation in electronics. In the past it seemed the innovative developments in electronics were in defense, aerospace, and consumer electronics. Now it looks like automotive is one of the leading industries for innovation.

It's pretty amazing to see what auto makers have on their product roadmaps in terms of leveraging MEMS sensor technology. The idea of thinking about a vehicle in human terms, and consequently considering its function in terms of human senses is quite an eye opener and a bit hard to wrap your head around. I suppose once you do, the possibilities for the "smart" car are endless. A little scary perhaps, but so is it all innovation on such a grand scale.

A few weeks ago, Ford Motor Co. quietly announced that it was rolling out a new wrinkle to the powerful safety feature called stability control, adding even more lifesaving potential to a technology that has already been very successful.

It won't be too much longer and hardware design, as we used to know it, will be remembered alongside the slide rule and the Karnaugh map. You will need to move beyond those familiar bits and bytes into the new world of software centric design.

People who want to take advantage of solar energy in their homes no longer need to install a bolt-on solar-panel system atop their houses -- they can integrate solar-energy-harvesting shingles directing into an existing or new roof instead.

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